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Who'd have thought a home game with Nottingham Forest in November would boast such great significance?
The Gunners head into Saturday's Premier League level on points with their upcoming opponents. While the title hopefuls have stuttered amid key injuries, man disadvantages, and a daunting schedule, Forest have drastically exceeded expectations.
Buoyed by the goalscoring form of Chris Wood and the second-best defensive record in the divsion, Nuno Espirito Santo's side are bound to pose a tough test for a win-needy Arsenal team.
A couple of weeks have passed since the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, but the November break was kinder on the Gunners compared to September and October. There have few fresh casualties, and the two-week layoff would've aided the recoveries of several players ahead of Saturday's game.
Here are the latest Arsenal injury updates after the November international break.
Bukayo Saka
It's been another season of bumps and bruises for Saka so far, with the winger missing a very brief period last month due to a hamstring injury.
The club's starboy was absent from England duty over the recent break having sustained a knock in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea, and his injury has forced him to sit out until Friday. Saka was involved in partial training for the first time just a day before the Forest game, but I have no doubts he'll be in the starting XI this weekend.
Declan Rice
Rice has been struggling with a foot injury - potentially a broken toe - and he joined Saka in skipping international duty as a result.
A two-week break was exactly what the midfielder needed, and Arteta has confirmed Rice was involved in training on Friday. He was involved partially, mind. Still, the Englishman is trending towards playing this weekend.
Leandro Trossard
Trossard was one of ten Gunners to feature during the break, but the forward was forced off during Belgium's upset defeat to Israel with a knock.
The extent of his injury has not been made clear, but the lack of fuss surrounding the issue suggests it's far from serious. The boss confirmed Trossard was involved partially in Friday's session and should be involved on Saturday.
Riccardo Calafiori
He's back!
Calafiori has a nasty history with knee injuries, and he's been out of action for a month after succumbing during the 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk. The nature of his latest knee issue wasn't disclosed - not the details anyway - but Arteta has confirmed the Italian defender will be back in the squad this weekend.
A start at left-back beckons.
Ben White
White hadn't looked right at the start of the new season, but his reduced influence has been explained by a niggling knee injury.
The versatile defender is believed to have played through the discomfort in order to aid the Gunners, but it was decided that White would undergo surgery during the November break. The Englishman's expected to miss a couple of months, at least, and we won't be seeing him until the new year - most likely.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
It's not great news on the Tomiyasu front. There was an expectation that Tomiyasu, who's made just one appearance all season as the result of a recurring knee injury, would return to action after the break, but that won't be the case.
Ahead of Forest's visit, Arteta said (via Chris Wheatley) that the Japanese international is "going to be out for a period." Sigh.
With White absent, that is not good news. He's going to be out for a few more weeks. But hey, at least Jurrien Timber's feeling good.
Kieran Tierney
Kieran Tierney in Arsenal training today. 🏴 pic.twitter.com/ZisWJbBe1r
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) November 21, 2024
It's great to see Tierney back on the grass. Once a fan favourite, Tierney has long been deemed as surplus to requirements in north London. The club surely would've let him go in the summer hadn't he picked up a long-term injury at Euro 2024.
Tierney hasn't appeared for Arsenal at all this season, but he was spotted in training amid the brisk British November temperatures ahead of Saturday's game. Gloves and leggings, though? Is he having a laugh?
The Scot is unlikely to feature all that much despite returning from injury, but he could be included in matchday squads given how busy Arsenal's schedule is up until January.